A Year in Provence

January, Annie and Peter Mayle decide, in their own words, to take the plunge: they quit their jobs as a tax investigator and an advertising executive and move to Provence in the south of France.

Febuary, now into their second month in Provence, the Mayles continue to learn about local customs and culture. They track down Columbani the plumber and electrician and agree on an upgrade to the kitchen.

March: Peter enters the mysterious world of truffles when his friend Harry calls from England and asks him to find two kilos of the stuff. He first approaches his neighbor Amédée who sends him off in the right direction. The whole trade verges on black market dealing as the locals are trying to avoid taxes.

It's April and the weather has turned nice but the Mayles still have their uninvited house guest, the boorish Tony. Annie puts her foot down and says it's either Tony or her. When Tony says he will be leaving if he doesn't buy a property soon Peter offers to be his interpreter and ensures that none of the properties they visit are suitable.

May rolls around and the Mayles get two pieces of bad news. The first is that Tony, their visitor who overstayed his visit, has bought Rivière's property. Thinking the Mayles had something to to with it, Rivière brings them a live rabbit for their lunch. The second bit of news is that they seem to have a burglar in the neighborhood.

June and Annie gets a letter from an old friend asking if she and Peter would like to write an article on Provence for her magazine. They soon realize that they need an angle or a human interest story to make their article more interesting.